Spring is by far the best time for driveway sealing with late May to mid June being the optimal days. They usually meet all the requirements: Tempurature at least 15 degrees, and mutiple days in a row with no rain.
Since I own a driveway sealing website my friends and family assume that I seal my own driveway. The truth is that I pay to have my driveway sealed. Not because I don’t know how to, I don’t do it because it is a pain in the butt to do it yourself and can be expensive.

I have a smaller driveway so it really doesn’t make sense to spend the money to buy the tools required to seal it my self.

I just had my driveway sealed 2 days ago not by a big company but by a small local 2 person business. I took my own advice and paid after the job was done, asked what kind of sealant they were using and where they purchased it. I also inspected a few other jobs that they did on our street. NEVER pay before the job is done.

I had an estimate for $90 from the most popular driveway sealing company in the area, that was a bit too high in my opinion and they were not flexible on the price at all. Huge mistake.
The smaller guys that ended up doing the job did it for $50 using the exact same material and technique. I am extremely pleased with the results. The driveway looks great and cost maybe $10 more than if I tried to do it myself.

My point to all this is that there are deals to be had if you are looking to get your driveway sealed. Now is the perfect time to have it done and the prices that these companies quote you are not set in stone. Get multiple quotes and don’t rush into having your driveway sealed.

Good Luck

Maybe you just aren’t ready to go green and start your own green driveway. A great alternative to these is the concrete driveway.
Concrete driveways look great and can last a very long time. But what about the cost?

Concrete Driveway Cost

Right off the bat you can expect to pay more for a concrete driveway than you will for an asphalt one so as long as you know that going in you’ll be less shocked.

In recent years the price of concrete has increased dramatically and as such builders and contractors are passing those costs on to the buyer. On average you can expect to pay about $7 to $9 per square foot to have a professional concrete driveway poured. That is up about $1 a sq foot from a few years ago. It might not sound like a lot but if your driveway is huge that can add up quickly.

What Do You Get For Your Money

Lets take a look at a typical single car driveway that measures 30 feet by 10 feet for a total of 300 square feet. On average you will spend $2500 to have it poured. Obviously the bigger the driveway the more it will cost.

This includes the gravel base the concrete pouring and usually any clean up. You will need to check with your contractor to see how much they charge for tearing up your old driveway and preparing the site for the new concrete one. This can vary widely from state to state and contractor to contractor.

But what if you want stamped concrete or different colors and texture effects? Obviously that will cost a bit more. Up to $15 a square foot more. Colored concrete is about $1-2 per square foot but it’s the stamping and texture effect costs that add up.

Is A Concrete Driveway Worth The Cost?

Well take a look at these images and decide for yourself. Also keep in mind that a properly sealed and maintained concrete driveway can add thousands of dollars to the value of your home.

The truth is that there is no standard rate for having your driveway sealed. It all depends on the size of your driveway and weather or not you are going to seal your driveway yourself.

Most driveway sealing companies charge by the square foot. So your first step should be to measure your driveway and get the total sq footage. Simply multiply the width of your driveway by its length. Example: a driveway 12 feet wide by 25 feet long would be 300 total sq feet.
The price per square foot ranges from .10 to.16 cents across the US and Canada. This varies by company and by climate.
So using the average of .14 cent per square foot on our 300 sq foot driveway, your total cost would be $42 plus taxes.

What services are included?

Something to keep in mind are the types of services included when getting a company to seal your driveway. A good quality sealing company will include the following services in the price per sq foot.
- Crack Filling
- Seal Coating
- Fixing Minor holes
- Priming Oil Spots
- Cleaning, either sweeping or using a leaf blower
- Roping off the driveway and sideway areas
Some companies will include edging and trimming services while others will require that you have it done before they arrive.

Sealing Your Driveway Yourself

In order to seal your driveway yourself there are a few things you need to purchase unless you already own them. They are:
- Driveway Sealant (at least 1 pail)
- Crack filler
- Squeegee or roller
- Oil spot primer (if needed)
- Pot hole filler (if needed)
- Stakes and string to rope off the driveway

Using our example of the 300 sq foot driveway assuming that you have the equipment already (chisel, chalking gun, putty knife, roller etc..) you would need 1 pail of good quality driveway sealant roughly $25 some crack filler $10 depending on the size of the cracks and a bag of pothole filler for $14.

Total Costs

Roughly $49 to do it yourself versus $42 to have a company seal it for you. While you might getting some pride by doing it yourself it is important to consider the cost and time savings by having it sealed professionally.
Make sure you get a few quotes and compare the sealing companies prices and services before signing anything.
*Please note that these are rough estimates only, call your local driveway sealing company for a proper estimate.